http://xaotic.com Uneasy answers for the fearless Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:42:55 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Afghanistan has returned to the headlines.  General McChrystal has come forward and told the president with little ambiguity that without additional resources, our armies will be unable to hold onto that country.  Almost immediately analysts on both sides started coming down for either withdrawal, or for a major revision of ... http://xaotic.com/?p=88 As the healthcare debate rages on, it seems more and more evident that the president, the once idealistic and capable darling of the progressive movement, is succumbing to the regressive trends of governing the United States.  I have, of course, been following developments in the health-care debate with some interest.  ... http://xaotic.com/?p=87 There is an information deficit in the United States today.  I say this not to suggest that somehow we aren’t smart enough, or our vast networks of knowledge distribution are deficient, but simply to suggest that people seem to be increasing incapable of getting the knowledge that they need to ... http://xaotic.com/?p=86 The endless swirl of words and ideas that orbit the issue of North Korea consistently fail to give either policy makers or laymen any sense of how to make progress.  We are always told to examine the issue from the perspective of the North Korean leadership.  However, what is consistently ... http://xaotic.com/?p=85 The United States government finally passed a set of comprehensive environmental laws today.  In them, the nation will be forced to lower it’s emissions by 17 percent by the year 2020 and over 80 percent by the year 2050.  While I applaud the government for finally taking issue on a ... http://xaotic.com/?p=84     There are moments when history seems to unfold very quickly, and it seems like the wrong decision will poison the well of the future for not just ourselves, but for our children.  Today, one of these moments is unfolding in Iran.  A new generation is beginning to rally in ... http://xaotic.com/?p=83             Consider this an apology for having not written anything in so long.  Following the election I have been feeling something like Beckett’s Estragon.  However, the recent explosion of violence in the Middle East should serve as a reminder to us all that the task confronting the incoming ... http://xaotic.com/?p=82 Barack Obama has won the election.  I want to say that again, not because you need to be told, but because I genuinely feel good about saying it: Barack Obama has won the election.  This is a matter of great pride for me.  Never in my life ... http://xaotic.com/?p=81 It is a truism in any sort of contest that when thing looks their darkest, the losing side will tend towards uncontrolled lashing out and more and more desperate plays in order to attempt to unbalance their opponent.  It is indeed a rare thing when anyone, after fighting ... http://xaotic.com/?p=80             While it hardly needs to be pointed out by me, I am not a fan of the American right wing and find most of their ideas – if not counterproductive, dangerous.  Whether is be their insistence on the viability of trickle-down economics, their unbalanced obsession with national ... http://xaotic.com/?p=79